Mike Locksley, Maryland football staying focused amid losing streak, uncertainty

Ahmed Ghafir
2 days ago
3 min read

Amid growing noise about the state of Maryland football amid a five-game losing streak, including a 35-20 road loss vs. Rutgers last weekend, head coach Mike Locksley reiterated that keeping his team focused while avoiding the chatter “hasn’t been a challenge with this team” with the players still engaged.

“That's I think a lot because of the work that was done on the front end. Maybe for you guys it's new, but for us, understanding that we've got 64 guys that weren't Terps a year ago,” Locksley said on Tuesday. “We created an expectation, which I admire and I'm excited about that expectation. And now what we've got to do is just continue to work and develop these players and they've continued to show up. They're bought in. We've put a lot of work into making sure that the foundation of it is strong for tough times and we'll keep doing that.”

But the chatter has gradually picked up through the losing streak with frustration over two combined conference wins over the last two seasons, coupled with Maryland struggling to eclipse .500 in Big Ten play since joining the conference 11 years ago.

Mike Locksley bluntly said “no” when asked whether he believes he’s coaching for his job through the 2025 season, while responding “yes” when asked whether he felt he should keep the job.

“I'm the Head Coach of the University of Maryland,” Locksley said when asked to explain his answer.

Maryland AD Jim Smith told the Baltimore Sun, "he's gonna coach against Illinois, then he's gonna coach against Michigan, and then he's gonna coach against Michigan State" before ending the interview shortly after. "We got a chance to win three games and go to a bowl game. We can't make a decision right now. That'd be silly."

Quarterback Malik Washington brushed off chatter surrounding the program, but noted “fans are going to be fans regardless.” But with the coach he’s grown close to over the last five years now facing an uncertain future, the freshman quarterback is keeping his focus on the locker room.

“All I really care about is people that are inside of our locker room, inside of our building, that are there with us every day, that put in the same amount of work that we’ve put in and they’re trying to grind.”

“We’re motivated every game. As yall know, we’re 0-5 right now so we’re hungry for this next win,” safety Lavain Scruggs added. “We want to win.”

Washington added he believes his teammates are “playing for everybody in the building” with Locksley pushing back on the idea of his team playing for him amid the uncertainty.

“I'm a big boy. I've been a big boy a long time. I've done a lot harder things in my life than deal with a five-game losing streak and have to answer questions about what I've done. If you could do research, I'd say, if you could read, you could have knowledge, and you'll see why the question you ask, you'll find the answer, but you’re going to have to read. And so when you hear those things, it's encouraging, because that means I've had a positive impact on the lives of those two guys. That's doing good work. I'm here to do good work.”

Locksley also noted the external noise won't be a motivation through the final three games.

“We don't do external motivations in this program, man. It's a bond. I mean, they know I'm coach them up until the day I'm not allowed to and they're going to play hard for me until the day they are done playing for me. And that's - those are the type of bonds I make in this business. And again, I've done the good work throughout 37 years of it.”

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